Articles by Colin O’Neil, David Andrews, Ph.D.
FDA Tests Confirm Suspicions about PFAS Chemicals in Food
A recent investigation by the Food and Drug Administration found per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in food, including meat, seafood and dairy products; sweet potatoes; pineapples; leafy...
EWG Comments to EPA on Draft Toxicological Assessments of GenX
Attached are EWG’s comments to the Environmental Protection Agency on its draft toxicological assessments of GenX, the PFOA replacement chemicals, and PFBS. EWG commends the agency and the IRIS...
EWG Comments on Peer Review of NTP's Draft Technical Reports on Cellphone Radiation
EWG submits comments on the peer review of the National Toxicology Program's draft technical reports on cellphone radio-frequency radiation. The external peer reviewers strengthened the conclusions of...
EWG’s Letter to N.J. for Stronger PFC Restrictions for Water
EWG submits comments to New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection in support of the state’s proposal to lower the Maximum Contaminant Level for PFOS in drinking water. EWG also urges the...
Study: Phaseout of Teflon Chemical Has Likely Averted Thousands of Low-Weight Births and Saved Billions in Health Care Costs
The phaseout of a hazardous chemical formerly used to make Teflon has likely prevented thousands of low-weight births in the U.S. each year, saving billions of dollars in health care costs, says a new...
EWG Standards Cut Through Compromises on Drinking Water Quality
When it comes to your drinking water, getting a passing grade from the federal government may not be good enough.
Chemical Companies’ ‘Voluntary’ Clean Ups Are Little More Than Corporate Spin
Last week Chemours – a DuPont spinoff company that inherited liability for some of its parent's nastiest toxic messes – announced "voluntary actions" to clean up and eliminate pollution from a highly...
Triclosan: Not Safe, Not Effective
If You Are What You Eat, Are We Making Children Nonstick?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on any given day one in three American children – no matter their age, race or family income – eat fast food. Hamburgers, french fries...
Nonstick Chemicals: A Hydra-Headed Family of Toxic Compounds
Banning or restricting toxic chemicals one at a time is like fighting the mythical hydra: For each head cut off, multiple replacements appear that may be just as hazardous. There's no better example...
Scientists in N.J., Germany Support 'No Safe Level' of Teflon Chemical in Drinking Water
PFOA, a carcinogenic chemical formerly used to make DuPont's Teflon, contaminates drinking water for at least 7 million Americans and is in virtually everyone's blood.
'Erin Brockovich' Chemical in Drinking Water of More than 200 Million Americans
Drinking water supplies for two-thirds of Americans are contaminated with the carcinogenic chemical made notorious by the film "Erin Brockovich," which was based on the real-life poisoning of tap...
How Sunscreen Makers Spoof the SPF System
I keep a bottle of Banana Boat Sport SPF 100 on my desk. But I am not convinced it deserves more than a SPF 15, or maybe 30, rating. A chemist specializing in sunscreen chemicals, I run a sunscreen...
New Studies Trace PFC Pollution from Sources to the Next Generation
Fluorine-based chemicals that can cause cancer, developmental toxicity and numerous other detrimental health effects have contaminated the drinking water of millions of Americans, and the blood of...
Drinking Water for 5.2 Million People Tainted by Unsafe Levels of PFCs
New EPA Guidelines on PFCs Welcome – but Still Fall Short
Today the Environmental Protection Agency issued a long-awaited drinking water health advisory for the perfluorinated chemicals PFOA and PFOS. But EPA's advisory falls far short of what's needed to...
UPDATE: Is Toxic Teflon Chemical in Your Drinking Water?
The bad news about a toxic chemical used to make Teflon keeps getting worse.
Is Your Drinking Water Contaminated with Toxic Non-stick Chemicals?
When you drink a glass of water, you expect it to be clean and pure, not contaminated with invisible toxic chemicals. But nationwide testing has found that 6.5 million Americans in 27 states are...
Got sunscreen? Great – but keep your shirt on.
By now most of us know to wear sunscreen at the beach or during other outdoor activities. But some people mistakenly think wearing sunscreen makes them immune from sunburn, which can lead to skin...
Teflon-Killing Canaries and the American Dream
As a new EWG report shines a light on DuPont's poisoned legacy in the mid-Ohio River Valley, it's a good time to look back at Teflon's canary effect.
